The first reported appearance of coffee is in the year 850 in the region of Kaffa (hence its name) of Ethiopia. Out of curiosity some person tasted the red fruits from an unknown tree. Gradually the people of this region began to eat this semi-toasted (by the sun) grains. Those who ate said they felt happy and awake. It is unknown how this plant arrived in Yemen in the fourteenth century. The old shepherds of Yemen discovered that when their goats chewed on the leaves and fruits from some tree the goats became agitated and couldn't sleep at night. The shepherds told this to some monks that lived nearby, who began to make a beverage with these grains. This drink helped them stay up longer. One day one of these monks started burning some branches of the plant and without him noticing, some of the grains fell on the fire. A delicious aroma arose from the fire. This smell attracted the other monks who withdrew the grains from the fire and grounded them to make a better tasting beverage from this powder.

In time this new beverage arrived at the Golden Horn, one of the richest zones in the Ottoman Empire. In Istanbul two merchants, Djems de Damasco and Hakim de Alepo opened the first two known coffee houses side by side. In the middle of the XVII century merchants from the east introduced the beverage to the city of Dogos in Venice. According to historians the first "bottega da caffe" was open on the "Plaza San Marco" in 1645. From Venice coffee went to London where the first establishment was manage by an Italian. It was inaugurated in 1652 near the Saint Michael Cornhill Church.